The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm for Sleep

A quiet reading of Fromm's demanding claim that love must be learned like an art.

This episode follows The Art of Loving in the order of Fromm's own argument. It begins with the book's startlingly practical question, whether love is an art that requires knowledge and effort, then enters the theory of love as the mature answer to human separateness.

The reading moves through Fromm's account of parent and child, the distinct objects of love, brotherly love, motherly love, erotic love, self love, and love of God, before turning to the chapter on modern society and the ways market life distorts intimacy. It closes with the book's final demand for discipline, concentration, patience, faith, courage, and a life organized around the practice of love.

The full episode is on YouTube and Spotify. Please listen only in safe, restful contexts.